Dalelands

Upstairs, several hobgoblins have stormed the tavern and are fighting with Horrick apparently. The group are not able to aid him however since they've had to evacuate to the sewers to escape from the blood.

They happen on a grisly and weird scene. In the middle of the sewers, a little spot of nature where even a few trees grow. There seem to be an abundance of rats around. Two dryad like women seem to be living there with a group of almost humanoid beasts.

The group greet them. The women tell them that they have disposed of hobgoblins before and are angry at the devastation those cause. The adventurers tell them that they share a common enemy. Sadly, their sister Eragyn which went to the spider woods, went missing. No wonder, since the group slew her themselves.

The adventurers weasel around a bit with words. Finally, Lyra, one of the two transforms into a wood dryad form and offers to show them the way into the garrison. Both she and her sister appear to be worshippers of Malar.

The discussion is cut short however as several otyughs, slimy monsters with several tentacles, are slithering towards the camp. At the edge the party await the incoming monsters.

The first slithers up to Thana and grabs her with its tentacles. The otyughs also emit a horrid stench which threatens to turn the adventurers' stomachs. The otyughs also emit an unholy power. Apparently they're influenced by the Devourer.

After the adventurers draw the first blood, a black pudding slithers through the drains and engulfs Kerrick! The kenku bursts out however and Shiel and him keep wailing on the otyugh in front of them. Thana's holy burst knocks the trash monster back into the black pudding and the two are briefly entangled with each other.

Finally the otyugh dies. Shortly after that, the pudding engulfs Thana and begins melting her armor. Attracted by the otyugh's death scream, a much larger version appears who slams Shiel around. The Sword of the Dales allows him to send out a psychic shock which forces the beast to relinquish its hold. It also cuts open the side of the pudding which regurgitates Thana, armorless. She has found a magical leather armor inside the beast which even its acid couldn't destroy.

With the huge otyugh charging at them the party turn to flee. A potion the dryads have been brewing turns on the rats into a giant monster which starts fighting the otyugh. With the dryads, the group leave the monsters behind.

Meat & Mayhem

Below the tavern the innkeeper soon reveals his true colors. He's turning into a purplish pale humanoid demon with sharp claws. In his infernal kitchen which is full of repulsive ingredients like humanoid body parts, he tells the group about his previous gastronomic ventures. He also confesses to having enjoyed Ariton's aide's meat.

The group, repulsed, decides to attack. He has two quasits hovering around. Each of those spew out larger reddish demons with wings (called Neldrazns) which teleport Thana and Nimue away from the group.

After one of the quasits falls to the attacks of the rest of the adventures they hurry to assist Thana against the other quasit and neldrazn. The neldrazns prove quite resilient and try to teleport the party apart to the demonic blood fountains in hopes of dunking them into the gushing blood.

A group consisting of the harper agent, Mourim and Shiel try to bring down on of the neldrazns but only manage to trade blows with the demon.

The other quasit has long since been slain while the harper lodges an arrow in the second neldrazn's brain, fatally wounding it.

Only the purplish demon remains. Suddenly his gaping maw engulfs Thana and wolfs her down! Shortly thereafter Shiel finishes him off, but that doesn't bring back Thana!! Even carving into the soft belly of the demons and performing a discectomy on the demon's corpse doesn't reveal her. Meanwhile the fountains behind start gushing blood wildly which starts covering the dungeon floor.

Thana calls on Chauntea's help with a holy aura. Suddenly she's ejected from a portal behind the archway. The blood meanwhile is filling the room up to meter high. Luckily Kerrick discovers a secret door which leads to the sewers.

The party decide to throw the corpses of the lizardfolk outside into the river. With the forces of the dragon and the Zhentish forces waging war on each other, it should be possible that those guards simply happened on a hobgoblin patrol…

The party leaves the sewers to visit a tavern close to the forest. Ariton, the previous guard caption of Daggerfall is now working for the resistance and is supposed to have informations about Daggerfall and Rondra's whereabouts.

The patrons in the tavern are mostly well-known faces from the resistance in Shadowdale. They do not know where Rondra is kept for certain but suspect she's being held in the garrison.

Suddenly a group of hobgoblins, attracted by the noise inside come in to check on the curfew. They are wearing armor with the red hand, the symbol of Bane. Shiel greets them and invites "his friends from Zhentil Keep" to a few mugs of ale in hopes of coaxing information out of them. The hobgoblins tell him of the impending execution of Rondra Morn but don't seem to know that much.

When one of them stumbles outside for some fresh air, Kerrick sneaks out to blindside him. The surprised hobgoblin manages to alert his companions however. The hobgoblins pull their weapons and try to arrest Thana and Nimue and a brawl breaks out.

One of the hobgoblins knocks Thana's mace out of her hand and grabs her. The others are also quite adept in administering pain. The hobgoblin outside with Kerrick casts hex spells against Kerrick trying to obscure the terrain with a cloud of black smoke. Kerrick severely damages him with his trusty crossbow however and kills their spellcaster.

Nimue turns into a living lightning and electrocutes several of the hobgoblins. The rest are eventually overwhelmed by Mourim, Shiel and Thana. The barkeeper isn't that happy about that impromptu battle and plans to flee into the forest before retaliation arrives. One of the bar patrons reveals himself to be an agent of the Harpers to Thana. He introduces himself as Koril Benshy.

The first attempt to free Rondra has been unsuccessful according to him. Not only was Ariton captured, but also a second in command in the resistance, Mistin Domag. Koril hasn't been in town for long, but he suspects there may have been a traitor in the resistance. The barkeeper meanwhile has escaped down through a trapdoor like he had announced when the hobgoblins were killed in his establishment.

When the group thinks about going after him to keep him here, they are greeted by a stench of decay. The tunnel below seems to be made from flesh. The barkeeper may be even more than just a traitor…

She will be executed at dawn.....next week

The hastily formed council of Ashaba tries to come to terms with how to deal with the captives. While there is mostly agreement about keeping the High Councilor in prison, especially not to alienate his son who is away trying to warn the Order of the Sword it looks grim for Shashesh, the priestess of Bane. According to Lhaeo three representatives from churches would be needed for a tribunal while the more common folk demand an execution.

Suddenly a guard bursts in! Nearly out of breath, he rasps that Rondra Morn is scheduled to be executed in Daggerfall in one week! This has been decreed by Count Goldhammer, the local Zhentish representative in Daggerdale! Daggerdale is full of hobgoblins working for the Zhentarim. The green dragon still occupies the Daggerfall fortress.

The only way into Daggerfall is through the sewers below the city and only a small unit of attackers has any chance of getting in undetected. So the adventurers set out to save Rondra Morn from her grisly fate especially since they owe her a debt of honor and also Shadowdale needs an alliance of the dales against the Zhentarim.

They quickly find the entrance to the sewers. Horrick and Mourim force open the grates from the outside. Entering the sewers, the group sees light coming from afar. After displaying a not that amazing amount of stealth, Kerrick tries to imitate a swarm of rats fighting. This sadly riles up the approaching lizardmen who are rushing in to exterminate the rat plague. They are wearing symbols of the Dragon Cult and are probably henchmen of the dragon, Venomina.

The party jumps the brute who runs in front and Kerrick severely injures him with several sneaky attacks. A few smaller lizardmen run in and stab Shiel who tries to get around the brutish lizardman.

The lizardman group tosses Shiel to the floor and the lizardmen beat on him until Kerrick and Nimue get them off so he can get a few hits himself. Thana heals the badly battered battlemind.

Eventually they prove to be no match for the party and are slain. The group advances through the sewers to prevent Rondra's execution in time!

The Battle of Ashaba's Deep...err Tower

The group, aided by the mercenaries and Jhaele and her allies quickly moves into the Tower of Ashaba. The fortress is well protected against attacks from all other directions since it has been build on the slope of a mountain. Apparently it is well stocked with provisions and weapons for the defenders to take over. The upper floors of the main castle have been sealed by the chancellor. Nobody really knows what he's trapped there. The castle once belonged to the Mourngrym family. The dungeons are mostly empty except for a few cutthroats and thieves who Kerrick tries to reason with. They must have hidden some valuables SOMEWHERE!

The citizens of Shadowdale are worried about the impending battle, but Shiel calls on them to take up arms against the chancellor and his wife who are obviously agents of Bane. Lhaeo objects until Shiel displays the Sword of the Dales. The sky above the castle clears up and a ray of light from above hits the sword! Some of the dalelanders call Shiel the Mantled King who has returned and are rushing off to mobilize the other dales.

This convinces the remaining villagers who hurry into the castle, especially since they can see small farms and villages in the distance burning. Apparently an army is advancing. A ritual from Nimue turns the winds against the attackers. Their flames are fanned towards them enabling some of the villagers to escape.

Shortly after closing the gates the advance guard of the chancellor's army arrives. Diplomacy is cut short however since the defenders feel that allying with Bane has voided any claims the chancellor has to Shadowdale. Also he's not inclined to believe any of the 'slander' that his wife is an evil cleric and orders the place to be burnt down. He also shows his disregard toward Shadowdale which he just considers a stepping stone on his way to retake Ashabenfurt.

The siege engines which the attacking army has built are moved closer to the castle and start raining rocks on the wall. The attackers are covered in a green flame which seems to confer some protection on them. This is echoed by Thana's holy powers on the battlements which will bolster the archers.

Nimue's sorcery rains havoc on the soldiers, many are slain by the torrent of magical energies. A small troupe carries a ram towards the gate. Judging by the green runes which cover it seems to have been enchanted for greater potency. The archers on the wall manage to pick off one of the carriers, but the cleric simply raises him as a zombie to keep the attack going.

Hedistrin manifests and asks Shiel to focus his concentration on one of the siege engines from afar. It will take a while and a lot of concentration to charge that power however.

Thana incinerates the zombie with a holy terrain in front of the gate. Shiel obliterates part of a catapult with a beam from his sword and challenges the attackers to watch the actions of their cleric who obviously animated several of their fallen brethren, not something a good cleric is known to do. A few of the soldiers abandon the fight.

Sashesh reanimates more soldiers which pick up the battering ram and keep carrying it closer to the gate. Thana sics Glimmer on the zombies who manages to burn three of them to ashes. One of the towers is hit by a boulder, a part of it collapses down. Using grappling hooks, a few of the attackers manage to scale the towers, some are cut down however.

Meanwhile Sashesh dispels Thana's holy zone below. On the tower, Kerrick throws down one of the attackers. When the front gate is breached and the defenders are prepared to withdraw into the inner castle, reinforcements arrive for the wounded heroes!

It is Scott Harikon of the purple dragons of Cormyr and his mercenaries. They quickly overwhelm the High Counciller and Shashesh and take them as prisoners.

Revelations & Revolutions

When the group returns to Shadowdale, the temple of Tymora is closed off however. A guard tells the adventurers that that is due to the orders of the high chancellor.

"Luckily" Captain Icehyll happens along. Remembering the disapproval of Haresk Mallorn, the son of the arch chancellor, about his previous reluctance to help out the group, he is quickly convinced to let the group into the temple, under supervision of course.

The key does not fit into the gate since the lock seems to have been recently replaced, but this is no challenge for Kerrick. The inside has also been remodeled apparently. A statue of Chauntea sits on the pedestal at the wall, no traces of Tymora remain. Also a lot of riches have been stored all over the temple, probably the riches the arch chancellor squirreled away before he lost Ashabenfurt to the Dons.

Thana prays at the statue of Chauntea and light shines on her and the statue from above. The horn of plenty Chauntea's statue carries dissolves and reveals a piece of Chauntea's Horn of Plenty, one of the holiest items of the faith.

Thana also has a vision with hints on where the other pieces are to be found:

and room with tapestries with a flaming sword, a female cleric received the largest piece for safekeeping.

Thana also notices a few books with religious scriptures which are glorifying Bane.

Suddenly the guards outside are quickly dispatched. A woman clad in black with a shield which displays the unholy symbol of bane commands a squad of soldiers and archers to leave noone alive! Everyone feels the presence of an evil god!

For starters Thana and her evil counterpart start with imbuing their allies with (un)holy powers before the soldiers charge into the temple and push Shiel aside.

Two soldiers of Bane block the entrance of the temple while the archers kill some of the town guards. The priestess however conjures up a ghostly green glowing dwarf who joins the fray. His weapons seem to be all too real however!

The soldiers take a lot of beating and block many attacks in concert. The numerical advantages eventually proves too much for them and they're overwhelmed. The cleric of Bane retreats, vowing that "the high chancellor will hear of this!". So he seems to be involved, not that surprising if the Bane scriptures in the temple really belong to him.

Captain Icehyll confirms the cleric as Sashesh, the current wife of the high chancellor. She'll be sure to draw the high chancellor's wrath down on the group, and he will be sure to bring his mercenaries over to Shadowdale eventually.

Perhaps it's high time for the resistance to grab the gold and kick the high chancellor out. Icehyll himself doesn't seem to be adverse to this idea either.

Since Lhaeo isn't at home, Shiel starts by alerting Jhaele. Jhaele suggests that to mount a defense a commander of some sort would be needed. Shiel suggests Lhaeo for the job as he respects his intelligence.

Toppling Tower

On the top floor the group finally catches up with Sister Tara and the kenku pirates. Sadly they seem to be working together. Their tale that they had wanted revenge on her apparently has been nothing other than a ruse.

Tara demands that the Sword of the Dales to be handed to her so she can destroy it in the magical circle in the middle of the room to recall Gothyl from the abyss and increase her power manyfold. An ominous stone statue of Pazuzu is towering on the other side of the room.

Suddenly Kerrick notices that Blooddrinker's hilt is suddenly looking a bit like the one of the Sword of the Dales. So the group hands over the wrong blade wrapped in cloak. Nimue throws it into the circle. The evil ritual book which Tara uses seems to be powerful enough to even destroy the profane artifact! A portal opens in the circle and tentacles burst from the floor entangling several of the kenku pirates. Tara is searching frantically in her book for a way to stop this while the statue of Pazuzu seems to be slowly disintegrating! The golem is announcing that the Zhentarim are advancing from below.

Nimue flies over to Tara and wrests the book from her. Shiel commands the golem to free some of the unlucky kenku from the tentacles and shouts for everyone to escape downstairs. The Zhents however are just running up the stairs. Some of the tentacles make a part of the tower walls collapse with their thrashing. Tara flies over to the hole and curses at the party. Sadly she is grabbed by one of the tentacles and pulled back before she can fly to safety with her astral wings. The group cautiously moves closer to the hole in the wall, eventually even freeing Tara from the tentacles which she uses to fly out of the hole. Some of the kenkus make it outside, some are crushed by the tentacles. Since they are not able to fly a few fall to their deaths.

Nimue tosses the book into the devourer's mouth which hastens the destruction of the tower, the mouth is even gushing blood! Yuck!

The group has reached the hole as well and starts their climb down. Kerrick slips and tumbles down. Instead of dying he calls on Pazuzu's power who provides him with black wings to break his fall. Luckily there will be no repercussions for that obviously…

With the Mentor's help Shiel gets down safely on the ground. The group flees from the collapsing and exploding tower. The search for the kenku turns up only a corpse or two but a few treasures are found in the tower ruins.

The party prepare to return to Stormpenhauder to heal up. On the way back they find one of the captured Zhentarim whose corpse is hanging from a tree. Apparently Horrick hasn't been able to contain his hatred of the 'dirty Zhents'.

At Stormpenhauder the party is greeted by the mayor and most of the village. Horrick is a bit miffed that Thana reproaches him for killing his helpless captive. Darian reveals that he doesn't really want to follow Chauntea's teaching. Rather he reveals that he's one of the last acolytes of Tymora, the goddess of luck. He just wanted to know more about the 'old faiths'. He has some good news for Thana however. In Shadowdale, the temple of Tymora houses "something she needs". He even hands her the key to the abandoned temple!

Mourim is suffering from the demonic corruption however and seems to be beyond help. The Mentor however reveals that he is really an exalted from Mount Celestia and can help Mourim. This however would drain his remaining strength and leave him unable to revisit this plane for one hundred years! He finally makes that sacrifice, asking the group to tell his great granddaughter, Rondra Morn. Mourim recovers. The next destination will be Shadowdale and its abandoned temple of Tymora.

Shraevyn's other End

The group decide to check the cellar of the tower first. In the basement they happen on a scene of cultists surrounding a summoning circle which according to Nimue is of superior craftsmanship. As above, the scene is frozen in time. On the other side of the room is a familiar gate to the abyss which resembles the one below Shadowdale.

Unaffected by the magic of the tower there's a demon at a blood basin similar to the one below the inn. He turns into a familiar figure, one of the head assassins in Shadowdale. He confirms that the cultists seem to be working for the Devourer and thus are beneath notice. He however is serving a greater master, Bhaal. Also he's been tasked to procure the black book from Sister Tara. Apparently his group has been trying to create a new such book in Shadowdale before the adventurers put a stop to it and helped seal the portal.

The Mentor finally rejoins the party downstairs and they decide to put a stop to the demonic rogue. The Mentor suggests using the circle to open a gate to the Astral Sea and request help from Mount Celestia…which might be necessary as the assassin immediately leaps into action stabbing Nimue and downing her…or not, since she's semi-undead anyway and thus is not stopped as easily.

Shiel punches s cultist at the circle in the face to drive him from the circle which also reanimates the remaining cultists. The assassin is shocked that "Bhaal's dagger" didn't put an end to Nimue. A chaotic melee erupts. The cultists are luckily pretty aimless, even the assassin has problems picking his marks.

Two hound archons burst from the circle and also assault the assassin. Hit from all sides he transforms back into a demon and leaps into the blood fountain, not without threatening dire consquences to the party.

The Mentor explains that the ritual to summon the hounds has been a part of the magic practiced by the paladins of the Order of the Sword. The archons ask Thana how the "capture of the traitor, the Rakshasa is coming along?" Thana replies that her current reincarnation doesn't have her full memories back. The archons tell her that "the tower can help her with that".

One of the archons sacrifices his essence to close the blood well, one of the altars dedicated to Bhaal.

The remaining hound archon reveals another scene from the past, apparently on the Astral Plane. Shiel as Shraevyn receives some Elven knights of Myth Dranor and Odos who brought him the Githyanki blade in exchange for a mind flayers head. But apparently "Shraevyn" is really a deva. Loathing Elves and not wanting any witnesses to the origin of his soon mighty sword, he slays the knights. Thana is horrified and steps into the scene to stop the Deva. She turns into a former, mightier incarnation of herself. Shiel, who partly relived the scene, reappears on the floor with gaping hole in the chest. Apparently he's dead. Does this mean Shraevyn never returned from his quest into the Astral Sea but was replaced by an evil Deva?

The Deva, Cersos, accuses Thana of being inactive in the great Elven war called "The Crown War", in which the Dark Elves turned into drows. Cersos on the other hand had aided some of the elfs, but was later betrayed by them. The slipping Deva was incarcerated on the Astral Plane. The only way to rectify things is to take the mantle of rulership for himself!

Thana cannot let this happen so she casts him down to live as a rakshasa until he atones for his sins! Cersos is beside himself with rage and uses this moment to call on Pazuzu who appears in the summoning circle! Apparently Cersos is ready to convert to Pazuzu! Thana steps between them and fights Pazuzu. Cersos grabs the sword and flees. While Thana turns to him, Pazuzu strikes her down! The vision ends and Thana returns to her younger self. She is deeply irritated by what she has learned. Memories of lifetimes spent in pursuit and combat flicker before her inner eye. Chaunteas mission to strengthen the faith may be the mission of her current incarnation, but the hunt for Cersos has been her mission for centuries and millenia. And something personal still seems to be missing from her memories. Something deeply painful. Something that is connected to the fairie puppet.

The Mentor and the remaining hound archon reseal the gate to the abyss. Shiel luckily isn't dead, but the final fate of Shraevyn seems to have been revealed!

According to the servitor golem the Zhentarim seem to have breached the 2nd and 4th floor. They're in the eternal battle however.

On the 3rd floor Shiel, this time as Shraevyn/Cersos faces Gothyl/Hedistrin once again. Apparently Cersos used part of Hedistrin's soul to be able to tap on her psionic powers and control it. Cersos charges Gothyl to impale her with his sword but the claw of Pazuzu around her neck bursts into flames and incinerates him. This has been the end of "Shraevyn" and one of Cersos' previous incarnations.

At least Pazuzu must have had a lot of fun pitting his own pawns against each other.

Rakshasas & Rituals

The party arrives on the forth floor of the tower. Strangely they seem to be on a grassy plains where an army of orcs and other monsters is facing and army of dalesmen. The witch Gothyl seems to be leading the massive horde which outnumbers the dalespeople by about two to one. Thana knows of the conflict which happened hundreds of years ago which ended with Gothyl's death. But she managed to take the Mantled King with her.

Sadly Shiel seems to embody the Mantled King here. Gothyl for some reason seems to be hellbent on delivering justice on the Mantled King and to destroy the symbol of his rulership, the Sword of the Dales. When Shiel reproaches her for leading an army of monsters and asks what injustice he has visited on others, Gothyl orders her army to attack!

In the first moments of combat the orcs are cutting a bloody path through the defenders. Thana places down a holy area which heals wounded allies and damages the attackers which stay in it. Kerrick meanwhile has snuck behind enemy lines and tries to get at Gothyl who keeps pelting him with harmful spells.

Thana, while looking at Shiel who stands in Glimmer's light sees the shadow of a tiger creature, a rakshasa which she recognizes being a deva. Nimue's spell allows Shiel to fly at Gothyl and deliver to her slash charged with psionic energies.

Gothyl explodes, black shards also take Shiel down. Thana heals him and asks him about any recollectings of being a rakshasa but he can't provide any answers. Does this mean Shraevyn has been replaced by a rakshasa at some point? Thana seems distracted, troubled by memories or the lack of them. She pulls out and fiddles a Faerie Puppet that had caught her eye on a market in Shadow Dale. Somehow there is a connection.

In any case, Hedistrin suggests actually travelling downstairs since the group somehow jumped from the first to the forth floor. Mage towers……

A floor down the group happens on a scene of Hedistrin getting ready to summon Pazuzu. Dark shadows coalesce into a winged creature. Apparently he is only visible to Kerrick. Pazuzu offers Kerrick riches and female companions, all for helping him by saving Sister Tara. Kerrick tries to weasel around promising to help the demon directly.

Suddenly, the scene which has unfolded restarts and the group witnesses Hedistrin talk to Pazuzu. Pazuzu reveals to her that her husband has not been himself lately…literally. He's been replaced by an ancient creature which harbors a deep hatred for elves.

Also Hedistrin wants to know what her husband has done to her. Pazuzu tells her that he has needed her psionic powers and thus tied her soul to the sword. To sever that bond, Hedistrin would have to travel to the 230th layer of the Abyss.

Apparently Hedistrin has turned into Gothyl not long after. The group visits another scene where a demon tells her about the impending demon attack on Myth Drannor. Also it delights her that her husband will be there defending the city.

Nimue notes that all the past stories may be lies shown by Pazuzu. She suggests capturing Sister Tara to get the truth out of her.

Schrödinger's Undead

The two captured Zhentarim soldiers don't seem to know much apart from the fact that they were sent to clear the way to the tower for the adventurers in hopes that more Zhentarim will be able to capture it once it is unsealed.

Horrick seems eager to lynch them while Shiel would like to trap them in the caves until their return so they can be brought to justice in a town. To his dismay Horrick is sent to take the captives to Stormpenhauder together with Mourim who still hasn't woken up.

At night, Shiel has nightmares about the death of his father, and the two captives vividly appear in it taking part in his slaughter.

The party finally reaches the Tower of Dreams. An old iron golem is guarding the front door. In his chest is a hole which appears to be shaped like Shraevyn's magical key. Kerrick determines that the mechanism seems to be of elven make. After inserting the key the golem stutters into action.

Hedistrin who seems to be a lot more alive closer to the tower casts a spell and the top of the tower seems to darken and to be covered in vines. Apparently someone has invaded the tower in some other way.

The golem is supposed to anchor the tower to this plane and seems to have problems. Also the forest foliage around the tower seems to be withering indicating an evil presense within the tower. Nimue tries to charge the golem with her lightning spells while Thana asks for Chauntea's help. Shiel tries to power the golem further with his sword.

Finally, the darkness is pushed back and the tower once again the pure marble to the tower shines brightly. The golem manages to force the door open.

Inside the shape of an old man floating over a pentagram distracts the adventurers. When Nimue and Kerrick enter the tower they vanish in a black smoke! The old man awakens and asks the remaining adventurers for help. Following Hedistrin's advice, Shiel sends the golem to go into the tower thereby reanchoring it.

Nimue and Kerrick suddenly reappear, but the golem seems to have been destroyed. The old man calls himself "The Mentor", tasked by the Order of the Sword to reawaken the belief in the old gods.

Apparently the daughter of Pazuzu and a demon princess from the Abyss seems to have been responsible for his plight. Apparently Sister Tara is at it again!

The Mentor is confused about Nimue's undead state. She seems to both undead and not… He suggests Nimue should visit Eschental before snapping back to his senses.

He's afraid the world is on its way to fall into the darkness. Also he keeps mumbling about "the witch" who imprisoned him. He's seen flesh tunnels like the ones below Shadowdale as well. Apparently he's also infused with the power of the old gods since he's able to shatter the pentagram circle once out by simply touching it.

The party moves up to the first floor. There they seem to witness the moment of the creation of the Sword of the Dales. Apparently Shiel is supposed to take Shraevyn's place in this scene with Hedistrin and the golem from below standing close to the altar on which the sword awaits the finishing touches. Three knights of Myth Drannor are guarding the room. Suddenly the golem grabs Hedistrin and tries to sacrifice her. The shocked Shiel tries to order the golem to stop which replies that terminating the ritual would destroy the tower and kill everyone in it. Nimue notices that the golem's magic seems to be tied to the Abyss and Kerrick notices his cursed amulet hanging around its neck. Shiel notices that his sword is gone, apparently it is just in the process of being created! So he jumps at the golem to rip the amulet from its neck in which he succeeds, tumbling to the floor!

The "Knights of Myth Drannor" morph into two wraiths and a shadow demon! With curses on their lips they leap at the group!

The shadow demon employs a deadly fear aura and necrotic attacks while the wraiths try to siphon the group's life force. They are vulnerable to holy powers though. Thana's radiant attacks appear to counteract the demon's and the wraith's insubstantiality. Shiel manages to sic the golem on the shadow demon.

Finally the concerted efforts of the adventurers which are joined by the Mentor slay the shadow demon. Hedistrin doesn't seem to be relieved and seems to be annoyed with Shraevyn/Shiel and blasts him against the wall before storming upstairs in fury. Then, the old Hedistrin fades back in. Since she doesn't have any recollection of what just happened the party proceeds to climb up the stairs.